Take a look at what your ancestors did for a living. Were they farmers, storekeepers, ministers, horse thieves or carpenters? How did they manage to put bread on the table for their families?
I'll run a few posts discussing how my ancestors kept their families fed. I guess the best place to start is with my father, Hugh Prall. He was a tool and die maker and owned his own shop. His father, Marshall Prall, was a candy maker in Marion (IN), Cincinnati and Indianapolis. My great-grandfather, Hugh M. Prall, was listed variously as a clerk, canvasser, solicitor, carpenter and cornice maker. (I think the canvasser/solicitor job was gathering info for the local directories.
My Dad's maternal grandfather, Charles Faucett, was a teamster, a city agent for Kingan & Co. (Indianapolis) and a day laborer. His father, Benjamin F. Faucett was a farmer in Hendricks Co. (IN) and a carpenter, after moving the family to Indianapolis.
On my Mom's side of the family, her father, Charles McHugh, was a tool and die maker (he made auto parts and toys in the shop) and patented the "Putt-Putt Boat," a popular toy during the late teens and 1920s. (He also took my father under his wing and taught him the business.) His father, James McHugh, was a farmer and stonemason in Illinois and Wisconsin. John McHugh, my great-grandfather, was also a farmer and stonemason. He was a coal miner for a short time as well in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Mom's maternal grandfather, James Crail, was a blacksmith and a veterinarian. (His career included stints as a Federal Meat Inspector in Chicago and Indy.) Aaron Crail, James' father, was a farmer, whose life was interrupted by the Civil War.
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